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Arthur's Bio

Biography

Or how I gave up my good job with a dental plan and became a writer

Well, it all started in a small hospital in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was July the 9th, 1967. A day that will live in infamy. I arrived a month early, and ever since I have been early for appointments. I was raised by my parents (Anne & Robert) on a ranch in the Cypress Hills, a peculiar geographical upthrust that exists on the edge of the prairie. My parents also raised about 500 Herefords, countless gophers (Richardson's Ground Squirrel), several dogs, 3 other sons and a variety of horses. Yes, I did learn how to ride a horse. Yep, I drove a tractor and threw bales. Yep, I hate that itchy chaff that sticks to your skin. No, I didn't wear a cowboy hat.

As a kid, I'd spend my spare time at the library in the small town of Tompkins (Population 219) reading anything I could get my hands on (first the bottom three shelves, then as I grew I could reach the top three shelves). My favorites were the Old Norse, Greek and Celtic Myths. Ray Bradbury. J.R.R. Tolkien. C.S. Lewis. Lloyd Alexander. Robert Heinlein. And lots more.

I went to high school in the metropolis of Gull Lake (Population 1500). There I started writing my first novel and was finished it by the time I graduated. None of the 8 publishers I sent it to wanted it. So I wrote another. And another. Meanwhile I attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Then I wrote another book. And another. Did I mention that none of them have been published? I received an English Honours degree and then disappeared into the flashy world of radio advertising copy. I had a dental plan! A regular pay cheque! Then after five years, I was officially jingled out. I jumped ship without a paddle (read: quit my job). I sent my seventh novel, Draugr, to Orca Books who were kind enough to pick it up. They also were kind enough to contract my next two novels The Haunting of Drang Island and The Loki Wolf. Then suddenly I was writing a biography of John Diefenbaker for young adults, a frightening ode to W.O. Mitchell, called Dust, an anthropology thriller called Tribes and ... well, I shouldn't tell you any more...Oh wait, did I mention I got married in 1997? (I was early for the ceremony). Tune in maybe my biggest dream yet will come true: getting my own dental plan!